Process: I had to find something that connected to me and my culture since one of themes I could choose from was culture. I quickly began thinking on how I could convey what I've felt for quite a while with never really being immersed in my culture as much as I should be. As soon as I came to the U.S my culture was becoming less and less a part of myself as I picked up a new language and the new culture of an unfamiliar country. For my first sketch, I drew a silhouette of a bhangra dancer. This piece had movement and I would carve away to reveal the negative space and the lines (positive space) would definitely show motion with their direction. For the second sketch I started thinking about body parts and what they can symbolize. I sketched out a heart but this idea was aloof and did not really concentrate on my theme. For the third sketch the idea of a skull came to me. It stuck with me because it would get my message across. The third and fourth sketch of a paggiri could be combined to become my final result. Kirchner was the fine artist I wanted to focus on since his goal "was always to express emotion and experience with large and simple forms and clear color." Since I was doing the medium of a block print, I decided this would be perfect to put emphasis on two aspects of my piece: the skull and paggiri.
The X-Acto KnifeThe X-Acto Knife really does deserve its own title. This tool helped me immeasurably in creating my block print! I envisioned my final result to have crisp corners and several lines that would need to be in close proximity with each other for the effect of the cracks on the skull. I couldn't achieve that with the other tools so I used an X-Acto Knife. I had already did the rough parts in my block print and only the brushing up and corners need to be done. I used the knife to make several thin cuts into the linoleum and then I would insert the knife beneath the linoleum at about a 10 degree angle with the table I was working on. This would carve the linoleum from the block and my crisp corners where the lines met would be created. I repeated this process many times, especially for the teeth.
My Work: There was a lot of time invested in this project and I feel as if I was successful with it. The major component was carving and after that printing went smoothly. The end result was definitely not a surprise to me considering I had it in mind all along. I met my goals on this project and the piece has balance, contrast, and emphasis. The balance is created with the black headpiece and the white skull. This also adds emphasis on the both pieces depending on how the viewer depicts it. Contrast is also created with only the use of black and white along with the thickness and thinness of lines. The thicker lines represent less detail. However, they are bigger in size so they also retain a sense of importance whereas the thin lines are miniature compared to the others but this should have the viewer pay more attention to the skull. The skull and headpiece keep this balance between themselves. Another thing I like to think of is how my work raises the question, "Who is that?" Who's skull is that and what type of headpiece is on the seemingly human skull. Despite my success with the piece, I could have improved on the printing of the piece which would have ended up with more intense blacks. There are also some points in my work where the lines are visible on my finished block but not on the print. I should have exercised greater caution with the X-Acto Knife.
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Title: Identity
Medium: Block Print Size: 22x15cm Date: October 2015 Exhibition Text: Inspired by Alex Kirchner, this piece tries to convey the death of a culture through a 'paggiri' and a skull. The paggiri is a symbol of the Sikh culture whereas the skull stands as an universal symbol of death. The simplicity of the piece should yell out at the viewer. The skull's harsh lines and lots of negative space balance out with the positive space on top of the piece. The paggiri draws attention to the top then the eyes take in the entire piece.
Exposure: I sketched a skull on the block and on it drew the details: the shadows, dips, indents. When I first started carving with the carving tools, I found it quite easy to carve into the block. I started from the forehead since there was a lot of negative space to be created there. I ditched the idea of showing value through this piece because I realized showing detail through this process was close to impossible. I would have needed quite a few more hours and would have had to ditch the carving tools, using only an X-Acto Knife to make thin straight lines for cross-hatching. To that, I said no thank you. After the forehead, I began on the teeth because they looked so daunting and I really wanted to get it over with. I began with carving small squares in the linoleum, spacing them apart sparsely. I took great care with the teeth and both hands to stabilize the pressure I carved the linoleum with. The next step was defining the nose and eyes of the skull. Now this, required even more care and I used a finer linoleum carver for this procedure. I defined the features roughly and whenever I would encroach upon another feature, I would stop. Next up was outlining the skull for which I used a broader linoleum carving tool and just sped up the process. I created the negative space around the skull in straight lines, trying to keep the same pressure so I would not have ink on some of the ridges that might be created with strayed, accidental movement which led to crooked lines and varying pressure. The paggiri was relatively easy for me to do but I had to sacrifice the many folds of the cloth for only a few since I did not have the precision they demanded. The printing went easily. The ink cooperated and although my print is not perfect, I believe that ink was applied to the most important areas and I am content with that. It was refreshing to print because carving was starting to get real old.
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